Art of Living event, 20,000 weddings & a Satsang means Delhi traffic at its worst

With more than 20,000 weddings scheduled along with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's World Culture Festival and an event hosted by Radha Soami Satsang Beas, Delhi is expected to witness massive traffic jams on Friday.

The roads identified include the Ring Road stretch in south Delhi, Noida Link Road, NH-24, areas near Akshardham, Mayur Vihar, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Asfram Chowk, Aurobindo Marg, Mahipalpur Chowk and Mehrauli-Gurgaon road - all considered major arteries and intersections in south and east Delhi.

Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander, who is charting out the traffic plan for the three-day cultural extravaganza organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation, visited the venue on Thursday and took stock of the arrangements.

"Organisers have made provisions for parking on the Yamuna bank. The space is limited so parking will be on a first-come-first-served basis," a senior traffic official said.

"People should preferably take public transport and avoid the Noida Link Road, NH-24 and the Ring Road stretch from the point of intersection with Bhairon Marg till the mouth of the DND Flyway," the official said, adding that congestion can be expected on these stretches between 12 noon and 11 pm.

The official said those approaching from the trans-Yamuna side towards central Delhi should use the ITO Road as Akshardham and NH-24 will be congested.

Commuters from Noida heading towards Delhi should take the DND flyover as traffic on the Noida Link Road is expected to be heavy during the event, he said. Around 1,700 traffic personnel have been deployed for the event.

"For an event by the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, also to be organised from 11 March to 13 March, at south Delhi's Fatehpur Beri area, traffic will be heavy near Bhati Mines, Andheria More, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, especially the stretch between Lado Sarai and Khanpur, and the road near IIT-Delhi," the senior official said.

In view of the large number of marriages scheduled today, special arrangements will be made near Ashram Chowk and other south Delhi areas that include Mehrauli and Chhatarpur, the official said. Delhi Police has also tweeted a traffic advisory.

-PTI